1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stackable holder for storage and retrieval of a coiled wire. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a stackable holder for storage and retrieval of a coiled medical guidewire, wherein the stackable holder facilitates the extraction of the coiled guidewire from the holder.
2. Background and Related Art
Guidewires are used in the medical profession to direct a catheter to an identified site within a cardiovascular or peripheral vascular system of a patient for the purpose of diagnosis and/or treatment. The guidewire is typically placed into a blood vessel of the patient and is directed by a medical practitioner to the identified site of the patient""s body. A catheter is then advanced over the guidewire until the functional structure of the catheter is located in proximity to the identified site. The catheter is then utilized to accomplish the selected medical procedure. The guidewire is withdrawn from the patient""s body before, during, or after utilization of the catheter.
A specific example of the utilization of a guidewire in the medical profession is provided in the procedure for directing an angiographic catheter to the site of a vascular obstruction of a patient""s body. Once a guidewire is inserted and located at the site of the vascular obstruction, an angioplasty catheter, such as a balloon angioplasty catheter, is advanced over the guidewire to the site of the obstruction. The balloon is then inflated to reduce or eliminate the obstruction. Guidewires are also used in many other medical procedures, including procedures that provide an application of ultrasound, a delivery of medication, an execution of a diagnostic procedure, etc. Additionally, medical procedures exist that require the utilization of more than one guidewire during the procedure.
To prepare the guidewires for use in a medical procedure, the guidewires are typically removed from any transport packaging and/or containers and are placed into an open storage tray that is filled with a storage fluid, such as a heparin solution. When a guidewire is needed, a medical practitioner reaches into the open storage tray, grasps a guidewire, and removes it from the storage fluid.
While storage trays are currently available for medical guidewires, many problems exist from the utilization of the available storage trays. For example, guidewires are often several feet in length and therefore are typically coiled before being placed in the storage tray. However, due to the resiliency of the materials used to form the guidewires, the guidewires generally uncoil until they touch a sidewall of the storage tray. This increases the difficulty for a practitioner to grasp a guidewire and remove it from the tray. When a practitioner reaches into the storage tray, the surgical gloves worn by the practitioner further increase the difficulty of grasping a portion of the guidewire since the diameter of a guidewire generally only ranges from 0.011 to 0.030 inches. Furthermore, when multiple guidewires are placed within a storage tray, the guidewires tend to uncoil until they touch a sidewall of the storage tray and thus create even more of a challenge for the practitioner to identify and remove a particular guidewire from the tray.
Some guidewires are coated with a hydrophilic coating in order to facilitate the process of passing a guidewire through a body vessel and passing a catheter over the guidewire. These coatings tend to make the guidewire xe2x80x9cslippery.xe2x80x9d When such a guidewire is required, it is very difficult for a practitioner to grasp a portion of the guidewire and remove it from the storage tray while wearing surgical gloves. This is particularly true where the guidewire has sprung open so as to rest firmly against the sides of the storage tray.
Other problems associated with currently available storage trays include retaining a guidewire immersed in the storage fluid. As provided above, once a guidewire is coiled and placed into a storage tray, the guidewire generally uncoils until it touches a sidewall of the storage tray. Some storage trays have sidewalls that slope slightly outward (e.g., the inside angle formed between the sidewalls and the bottom of the storage tray is obtuse). Therefore, if the storage tray is bumped, the guidewire may work its way up the sides of the tray and spring out of the tray.
In order to overcome some of the problems associated with storing guidewires, one guidewire holder was developed that is formed from a coiled tube and is filled with a storage fluid. The end of the coiled tube is bent into a vertical position and flared. Guidewires are fed through the opening and around the coils so as to be submersed in the storage fluid. However, the guidewire storage tube requires the end of the guidewire to extend out of the coiled tube to allow a practitioner to grasp the end and remove the guidewire from the storage unit. As such, the end of the guidewire is exposed to the atmospheric air instead of residing underneath a storage fluid, thereby increasing the likelihood of the guidewire becoming contaminated before it is used in the medical procedure.
The present invention relates to a stackable holder for storage and retrieval of a coiled wire. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a stackable holder for storage and retrieval of a coiled medical guidewire, wherein the stackable holder facilitates the extraction of the coiled guidewire from the holder.
The present invention comprises various implementations that are capable of storing a coiled wire that has a natural tendency to spring open. One implementation includes a holder that is used for storage and retrieval of a coiled guidewire. The guidewire holder is generally configured as a shallow pan in a circular shape that includes an outer periphery to retain a coiled guidewire in the pan. The periphery includes a set of ribs that facilitate maintaining the coiled guidewire substantially immersed in storage fluid to prevent contamination of the guidewire.
The guidewire holder may include an inner periphery that reduces the amount of storage fluid required to immerse the coiled guidewire. In addition, the combination of the inner periphery and outer periphery form a handle for which a user, such as a medical practitioner, may comfortably grasp the guidewire holder.
The guidewire holder may also include one or more access areas that, in combination with the set of ribs, provide easy access to the coiled guidewire. In a further implementation of the present invention, the access area includes a nose portion of the outer periphery that protrudes out to perform the function of providing an area where at least a portion of the guidewire is suspended so as to not touch at least the outer periphery. The access area allows a medical practitioner to easily grasp the coiled guidewire retained in the holder in order to remove it from the guidewire holder.
The guidewire holder may be coupled with another guidewire holder so that the guidewire holders are stacked. In a further implementation of the present invention, a rim of the outer periphery of a first guidewire holder and a stacking groove formed on the bottom surface of a second guidewire holder have a corresponding size and shape that allow the rim of the first guidewire holder to be coupled to the stacking groove of the second guidewire holder, thereby allowing the second guidewire holder to be stacked on top of the first guidewire holder.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the invention. The features and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.